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Exam stress and pressure
If you’re feeling stressed about your exams, you aren’t alone. Get advice and tips to help you cope.
Worrying about exams
Exam stress can affect anyone and can happen for lots of different reasons. You might be worried about doing enough revision, getting the grades you need or be feeling pressure from your school or family.
It can seem like nobody else is feeling this way. But trying to deal with exam stress on your own can often make the stress worse. So it can really help to talk.
Tips for coping with stress:
- write down your worries - then tear up the paper or share them with a trusted adult.
- use the Art box to draw a picture of what you want to happen
- look at our advice on taking care of yourself
- listen to calming music
- play a game to take your mind off things.
Watch for the signs of stress
Stress can be good sometimes, it can help you to work harder and focus. But it can also have a big effect on you and make it hard to cope. Stress might be affecting you if you’re:
- struggling to sleep
- having negative thoughts about the future
- getting headaches or feeling unwell a lot
- not eating because of how you’re feeling
- always thinking about your exams or worrying about them
- not able to enjoy things anymore.
Stress affects everyone differently, but if you’re worried, you don’t have to cope alone. Asking an adult you trust for help or visiting your doctor can help you find new ways to cope. And you can always talk to us.
Talk about what's happening
Talking about how you're feeling can reduce the pressure and help you to feel more in control. Or it can help someone realise that they might be putting too much pressure on you.
Why not try:
- talking to an adult you trust
- asking a friend for support
- speaking to a Childline counsellor.
Find ways to relax and take breaks
No matter how much work you have to do, it’s important to take regular breaks and find ways to relax. Taking a break can leave you feeling more able to cope, and even make it easier to concentrate when you start working again.
There are lots of things you can do to take a break and relax:
- Set a timer to take a 20 minute break every hour so you don’t forget.
- Give yourself something to look forward to, like a treat or an activity you enjoy.
- Plan when you’re going to start and finish your revision so you know when to stop.
- Look at our advice on ways to stay calmer.
Looking after yourself
It can be tough trying to stay healthy when you’ve got a lot of work to do. But there are small things you can do every day to help you cope:
- Eat healthily
Make sure you don’t skip meals and try to eat healthy meals.
- Exercise
Exercising can clear your mind and give you more energy, you could play sports, go for a run or do some yoga. Get more advice on sport and exercise.
- Self-care
Taking care means finding things that help you to feel calm and relaxed, this could mean taking a short break or getting some rest. Look at our advice on taking care of yourself.
Get enough sleep
Getting enough sleep can help you to concentrate more and feel less stressed. You might sometimes feel that staying up late could help, but sometimes this can make you feel even more stressed.
When you’re working in the evening, remember:
- decide when you’re going to stop working and don’t push yourself to stay up later.
- avoid caffeine, especially in the evening.
- give yourself time to relax after you stop working.
- eat early in the evening.
- don’t stay up in bed with your phone.
Take a look at our advice on getting to sleep.
Coping with pressure
Exams can feel like a lot of pressure. You might need certain grades for a course or job. Or your parents, carers or teachers might be putting pressure on you. You might be putting lots of pressure on yourself as well.
No matter where the pressure is coming from, there are ways to help you cope:
- Think positively
When we feel anxious, we can start thinking things like ‘I can’t do this’ and ‘I’m going to fail’. It can be difficult, but try to replace these with positive thoughts such as: ‘this is just anxiety, it can’t harm me’ and, ‘relax, concentrate - it's going to be okay’.
- Be honest about how you feel
Sometimes people can put pressure on you without even realising and sometimes it can help to talk about how it makes you feel. Talking about things can help you to think about other ways they can support you in the future. If you’re worried about telling someone, you can always talk to us.
- Don’t compare yourself to your friends
Competing with your friends can help to keep you motivated. But it can also make you feel like you’re not good enough, especially on social media. Try keeping a list of the revision you’ve done so you can see how much you’re achieving.
- Let your stress out
Try using our Art box to describe how the pressure makes you feel. Or write a letter to someone you trust saying what’s happening.
Exams and mental health
Watch: Social pressures at exam time
Getting help with other problems
Trying to study when you have other things on your mind can be tough. There are lots of things that can make revision harder for you, including:
- family arguments
- problems with someone you're dating
- being bullied
- mental health issues
- looking after people in your family
- world events.
Talking about what’s happening can help you to find ways to make revising easier. You could let out your feelings with a friend or by talking to a Childline counsellor.
Talking to an adult you trust, like a teacher means they could help you to find time to revise when you won’t be disturbed, or talk to your family and carers about what’s happening.
In some serious situations, your school might be able to make exceptions, such as marking your exam papers based on your work throughout the year, but your teacher can discuss this with you.
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